Tell me about your cash handling experience.

"As a bank teller, I have handled cash as a part of customer transactions for the past two years. I am experienced with deposits, savings withdrawals, cashing checks and issuing traveler's checks. I am excited to learn more about Halifax UK cash handling procedures."

Share some of the details of your experience in cash handling, which are relevant to the position.

"The majority of my cash handling experience includes my time in retail. I was a cashier at Store ABC for three years. As far as the banking industry goes, I have some experience in handling cash from my three months with Bank XYZ."

A key task in this role with Halifax UK is assessing an organization's weighted average cost of capital. Are you familiar with WACC calculations and when have you used them in the past if you are?

"In my current role, I utilize weighted average cost of capital calculation in the financing projects my firm undertakes. Basically, the WACC helps us determine if a project is worthwhile to see a future return. My role as the risk analyst is the gather the data for the formula. I am well versed in calculating the cost of equity and cost of debt for companies and determining market values of those numbers. In the end, a great rate is determined that can be a win-win situation for my firm and the companies that we finance."

Whether you have direct experience with WACC calculation or not, the first important thing that your interviewer will be looking for is that you understand all of the values that are used to calculate it and why it is important to calculate. Be sure to explain your understanding of the calculation. Then, if you do have experience, talk about the context of the work that you did surrounding utilizing WACC calculation and what resources you used to ensure that accurate data was used in the calculation.

"I do have some familiarity with WACC calculation when I've worked with evaluating mergers and acquisitions for potential clients. Luckily in the that times I've worked with the calculation, my colleague had a very detailed WACC calculator built into an excel spreadsheet and our role was gathering the important data to include in the calculation. This included debt to capitalization, equity to capitalization, cost of equity and cost of debt. In my time as a Financial Risk Analyst, those figures have been my everyday life. If hired for this role with Halifax UK, my experience in this realm will help with your WACC calculations as you make important decisions moving forward."

To get a sense of how you will handle internal auditing processes here at Halifax UK, what do you feel are important tasks to do once an audit is finished?

"The end goal of any audit is improvement and my role as the Auditor is to help bring as much value to the improvement as possible and this begins with my work following an audit. First and foremost, my top goal at the end of an audit is to deliver the results in a clear and quick manner and meet with all stakeholders to discuss my results. Having many years of experience as an Auditor, the one value I can add to Halifax UK is my ability to help your leaders put action into place to improve. As you'll see from my letters of recommendation, many high level leaders I have worked with in the past have really appreciated my ability to do this."

You and your interviewer both know that the work isn't completed the moment that an audit has been completed and for this question, your interviewer is looking to hear what items you feel are a top priority in ensuring that the audit has a long-lasting impact. As you answer this question, be sure to discuss any unique tasks that you feel are a priority and value that you can bring to the team at Halifax UK by talking about how they've been useful to others you've worked with in the past.

"In my work, my most important task following an audit is to help the key stakeholders understand what needs to be improved and how to improve it. I do this through a thorough reporting process to them. Managers like visual aids and I am able to provide them. They also like to hear suggestions on how to improve and my time in the auditing field brings with me a lot of process improvement knowledge that can help your leadership staff here at Halifax UK."

Talk about a time you had to handle failure at any point in your career. How did you handle that situation and move forward with confidence?

"A couple of years ago with my current company, my manager asked me if I would consider a promotion into a role as a supervisor for our department. Having not had experience supervising individuals up to that point in my career, I was very hesitant at first. My manager kept telling me that I had the skills necessary to do so. I did accept the offer to become the supervisor and after just three months, I fully realized that the position wasn't for me. I had become very close friends with a lot of the people I was now supervising and that made the real difficult for me. I didn't hesitate to approach my manager to let them know that I wasn't cut out for the role and we worked on a plan for me to transition back my former role. Looking back on the situation, I really learned a lot about myself and who I was as a worker to not put myself in a situation like that again."

This is a question that is being posed to you that gives you a chance to show your ability to overcome adversity and handle yourself with integrity during a time of failure. Your job in answering this question will be to prove that you can cope with failure in a productive way that leads to making the situation right and learning lessons for the future. As you prepare for a question like this for your interview with Halifax UK, think of a situation where you can highlight both of these things and don't hesitate to tell your interviewer the reasons why the failure occurred. Your interview fully understands that you are a human that makes mistakes and as long as you take a lesson moving forward, you will be in great standing with them.

"In my current role, I was the person who was informed that we were losing one of our biggest clients to a local competitor. In speaking with the client, they were very unhappy about our customer service and overall pricing. Being responsible for the customer service for our customers, I felt very responsible for losing this client and had to break the news to our leadership team. Right away, our Sales Manager contacted the client to ask a lot of questions on why they were no longer utilizing our services. From there we took a lot of lessons moving forward and I worked through a new customer service policy for my team to follow moving forward."

Talk about a time you had to communicate with a colleague or customer that was unhappy. What were the keys to making the situation better for all involved?

"A few weeks ago, I was having a pretty normal day at the front of the store. About an hour from closing time, a customer stormed through our front door and approached me at a rapid place with a very mad look on her face. She slammed a bag on the counter and demanded a refund for a shirt that she had purchased last week because she claimed it had a tear in the armpit. Before I could even say anything back to her, she then began berating our store for selling inferior products and she demanded to see a manager right away. As calm as I could, I told the lady that I would be very glad to take care of a return for her and I'd be happy to put her in contact with a manager. I let her know that I'd need to take her number as our manager was not in the store that evening. While she still left upset after receiving a refund, I followed up with my manager the next morning to ensure that he followed up with her. He let me know that she had calmed down and thanked me for my service the evening prior. I know that my ability to not take her harsh words personally really helped make the situation better."

Your ability to handle conflict will be an important part of this role with Halifax UK. Tellers are often the first line of defense with customers that call or come into the branch and you will be relied upon to help diffuse any situation that could get out of hand with customers. In your answer, try to focus on your communication skills that you feel are vital to your success in these situations. As you think of a situation you've been in to use in this situation, make sure that you can demonstrate the steps that you took to ensure that the unhappy customer or colleague left the situation in a much better place.

"Last year, I showed up to work to find my close colleague in a fit of rage at her work area. He was slamming desk drawers and using really inappropriate language. Knowing that this wasn't typical behavior from him, I immediately walked over to see what was wrong. He began by telling me that he had received a very bad customer complaint the day before and was now being reprimanded for it by our manager. He started to then talk badly about our manager and I immediately cut him off. By hearing what he had said, I tried to replay the conversation for him and then asked him what led to the customer complaint. I took a very empathetic approach to learn why he was feeling the way that he did and I quickly learned that he was indeed in the wrong in thet situation. My advice to him was to take a quick walk, calm down and hen go talk to our boss. Later that day, he thanked me for my great advice and talked about the lesson learned moving forward."

What do you want to accomplish at Halifax UK?

"First and foremost, I want to deliver top quality service to customers of Halifax UK and perform my responsibilities with best in class service. I want to work at Halifax UK because I want to become a financial advisor. Starting out as a professional banker will give me valuable experience resolving client account issues and providing financial assistance, from investments to savings and travel advice."

Set some goals so that you can share how this position at Halifax UK will help you to achieve them and how you will add value to Halifax UK along the way.

"My primary goal is to achieve a leadership position within the banking industry. To do this, I will continue my related education and take any training opportunities that come my way."

Here at Halifax UK, part of your job will entail talking to our customers about sensitive and confidential information. How will you handle these situations if offered this position?

"When faced with this situation, I would ensure that the conversation between the customer and myself would be done quietly and with any documents out of the view of others. A person's financial situation is private and I would take all necessary measures to keep conversations as private as possible in this role. In my current role, I have frequent private phone conversations with customers and I need to keep the same mindset with them as I would in this job."

At times in this role, you will be required to discuss the confidential finances of customers and this will happen during customer deposits, withdrawals and payments to the bank. When these situations happen during times where the lobby is busy with other customers, you will be required to speak with customers in a very quiet manner. As you answer this question, make sure that you reiterate that you are aware of the sensitive nature of the transactions you will be working on with customers at Halifax UK and talk about how you will go about ensuring that a customers private information is kept private. If you have worked in situations that involved confidential material in the past, be sure to talk about them as well.

"Having worked with confidential data and information through my entire career, this part of the job at Halifax UK would be second nature to me. By keeping a neat and tidy work area, I would be able to ensure that any customer information was filed appropriately after each transaction and wouldn't be viewable to the next customer that I handled. When it comes to personal interactions, I would ensure that our conversations were held in a quiet manner as privately as I'm able to do so."

If a customer at Halifax UK had increased savings as their main personal financial goal, what steps would you take with them to get them started down the right path?

"After I had done my due diligence in getting to know the need's of the customer, my first step would be educating them on setting a personal budget that allows for savings. I would take a keen look at their monthly income versus their monthly expenses while also taking into account their variable spending on a monthly basis. Often, by simply doing this, customers are dumbfounded by how much wasteful spending they have going on in their lives. While the customer makes the final decisions on how to best handle, I can use my expertise to help guide them on their savings journey."

As you look to interview for a Personal Banker position with Halifax UK, be sure to expect a question or two that really digs into the technical abilities that you would bring to the position in the form of a hypothetical situation that you will likely face in this role. This question is allowing your interviewer to gain insight into your knowledge of sound financial savings philosophies so be sure to talk about important aspects of a customer's finances that can impact their ability to save. As you answer, express that you would use a logical, yet tailored, approach with each customer in this situation.

"The first and most important step to this process is helping the customer truly see their financial situation by delving into their income and expenses. Based on that analysis, the customer then decides which of the factors of income and expenses can be altered to help increase their savings. From there, I would work with them on the best methods for saving and would take a personalized approach to recommending savings accounts or money market accounts with Halifax UK."

The clients of a financial firm like Halifax UK can display an arrange of emotions when they work with our Client Services team. How would you handle a situation where a client was very angry?

"As you can see from my resume, I've spent the last three years in customer service relations for a large insurance company. As you can imagine, a large majority of my customer interactions were with upset customers. I've been called names that I can't repeat here in this interview and my key to working through these situations was to remain calm and not take things personally. Like the financial world, the insurance business is a very life altering experience and a loss or damage to an item is very stressful. I tried to put myself in the customers shoes, see things from their perspective and do my best to ease their situation. In this role with Halifax UK, these same skills would be vital for me to find solutions or the right person to talk to if needed."

Whether due to a large amount of money lost on the market or a client feels they were ill-advised by an Advisor, your job as a Client Services Representative will at some point or another deal with a very angry client. For this answer, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you do what is necessary to stay calm and stay focused on finding a resolution. If possible, use a specific example of a time you had to do exactly this and explain how effective communication was critical in making the situation right for the client.

"First and foremost, an active listening approach is the first step to lowering the tension from an angry customer. A couple of months ago, we had a very angry customer come onsite to complain about a defective product that cut his hand pretty badly. The customer came onsite to complain even before receiving emergency care, which was apparent that he needed. First, I let him release his anger and it was not a pretty sight. Then I calmly repeated back what he had said and then explained what our policy allowed me to do at that time. Looking back, my sincere approach and calm demeanor helped calm him down and later that day, my manager had a formal complaint sent to the manufacturer and we were assured that they'd be in contact with the customer."

What do you feel is one unique skill or trait that you could bring to the auditing team here at Halifax UK?

"Being comfortable in my skills and experiences as well qualified internal auditor, I am confident that my attention to detail is one trait that will set me apart from anyone else you are talking to about this position. I am a very organized person that keeps an orderly desk, email inbox and to do list. As well, I know that this position will require me to work with data that goes above and beyond the everyday life of your average auditor and my attention to the minute details will make me an asset to Halifax UK."

This question is your opportunity to set yourself apart from your competitions as it gives you an open door to match a skill or trait that you have with the exact details for this position. Prior to the interview, be sure to read and research as much as possible on the job and Halifax UK to find something unique about yourself that can help benefit the team. Whether you talk about a job skill or a personality trait that you possess that you feel sets you apart, be sure that you are able to talk about this confidently to your interviewer.

"If I was fortunate enough to join the team here at Halifax UK, my ability to work independently and make decisions on my own from the start would be a huge asset. You'll find that I don't let outside influence or others influence decisions that I'll make as your auditor and I won't let my own personal judgments influence any of my decisions. As well, I am comfortable working with all levels of an organization, from the C-Suite to the day to day operations staff."

Why do you want to pursue a career in the banking industry?

"I am passionate about the field of finance and accounting, mixed with an unwavering passion for quality customer service. The banking industry allows me to tap into both areas and have a lot of fun making positive customer experiences along the way."

Before your interview, take some time to think through your career goals. Halifax UK is looking for motivated individuals who want to grow within the company. Share your career plans. Talk about how this position will help you achieve your goals!

"Careers in banking run in my family! My mother was a banker and my father, a financial advisor when I was growing up. It always fascinated me how smart they both were. It's in my blood!"

Give me an example of how you keep track of details while engaging in conversation.

"A customer came into the branch with multiple requests. To ensure that I addressed each of their needs, I wrote down a few notes for myself to gather the information. This was also helpful because when I needed to answer the phone in the middle of the transaction, I didn't forget any of the important details and I was able to resolve both requests promptly. All the while, I kept the customer engaged and made sure their banking experience was enjoyable."

Multi-tasking is a great skill to have within the banking industry. Share a situation that demonstrates your ability to handle the daily tasks of a busy banking environment.

"To keep track of transaction details, while engaging in conversation, I will ask the customer questions or repeat what they are saying to me. This helps me to commit their needs to memory while still appearing engaged, and in the moment."

What experience do you have working on an advanced phone system and what skills do you have that you feel would be essential to work with our clients over the phone?

"In my current position, I handle a majority of the incoming calls to our company. I have to triage calls based on customer needs and utilize the system to transfer calls, place customers on hold or push through to another person's voicemail. Some key things that have helped me master this part of my current job are my willingness and ability to learn my company inside and out and my clear and concise communications with customers that call. If hired for this role, I would be very thorough in my orientation process to learn all of the potential situations I would face with customers here at Halifax UK over the phone."

As the customers of Halifax UK become more virtual, a good chunk of business transactions happen over the phone. In this role, you will be expected to bring solid skills in handling the technical side of the phone system and great communication skills to handle customers when not face to face. In your answer, talk about any experience you have in working a multi-line phone system. As well, talk about the communication and organizational skills you have to ensure that you can help customers in any way possible over the phone.

"The skills that I would bring to the team here at Halifax UK in this role would be clear and concise verbal communication skills, my ability to read the tone of voice of others and strong organizational skills to handle multiple duties at one time. These skills really helped me thrive in my last role where I was handling customers online, over the phone and in-person in our branch office. At that job, I used and worked on the Avaya cloud based phone system and was able to learn and use all functions of that system."

As a Personal Banker at Halifax UK, how would you select products to suggest to our customers?

"To do this effectively, I would rely on my ability to get to know my customers and their needs and I do this through confident and friendly conversation with them. Once I know their needs and goals moving forward, I can then take a wise approach to our product base to get them involved with the products that help them meet their goals. Last year, I did this with a customer that I had over a years worth of history with. Through both email and in-person conversations, I learned that early retirement was definitely a goal of his and I used the benefits of our IRA accounts to help him open one and thrive moving forward."

At the heart of the role of a Personal Banker falls your ability to use your sales skills and customer service skills to match products that best suit each individual customer's needs. For this question, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you can do just that. As you answer this question, highlight your ability to learn and know the entire catalog of financial products you would have at your disposal and then switch to your sales skills mode where you talk about tailoring packages to each individual based on their needs. To really sell your interviewer on your ability, try to use a real world example where you used features and benefits to meet someone's needs in a sales related situation.

"If hired for this role at Halifax UK, my first goal would be to learn the entire package of personal accounts, savings, loans and investment products that customers here can take advantage of. Armed with that knowledge, I would then rely on my ability to get to know my customers and what they find important to them to help them grow and thrive into the future. I believe that my background in sales will help me to match the great products here at Halifax UK with each individual's needs because I've done this in both the automotive sales industry and the food industry."

In this role as a Risk Analyst with Halifax UK, you will be expected to be the expert on changes in financial regulations that impact our business. How do you keep yourself up to speed on these changes currently?

"I have been a CFA member for over five years now and I really look forward to the quarterly CFA Digest publication, the CFA Magazine and their news brief email that comes out daily . I find these are great resources that cover things ranging from daily news that impacts our work lives to very big picture studies and findings as published in the digest. If hired for this role, I would continue to be an active CFA member and would continue to utilize their resources for my work."

In a rapidly changing field like finance, you are expected to keep up with the changes at the snap of a finger and to gauge your ability to do this, your interviewer will be looking to hear that you will have the resources needed. Talk about the groups or publications that you belong to where you get imperative news on the field. If possible, use an example of a time where you shed light to your organization on a new risk from one of those publications. As well, don't hesitate to mention that you enjoy reading and learning new things in the field.

"As a risk professional, I have been a member of the Global Association of Risk Professionals for many years. I have been certified by the association for Financial Risk Management and I try to attend their national conference every year to network and learn from other professionals. The FRM group has enable me to keep on the forefront of changes in the financial management that impacts risk on an almost daily basis and the group helps me live and breath financial risk every day."

How do you build rapport with those that you work closely with?

"In an industry like yours here at Halifax UK, one bit of mistrust between your institution and a customer can spell disaster as they withdraw funds and move them somewhere else. I pride myself on ability to build trust and rapport with those that I work with and I do this by being very genuine in all of my interactions and finding time to connect personally with all that I work with. I always remain respectful to the needs of others and do my best to keep a smile on my face and stay positive at all times."

The banking industry relies on the relationships built between the institution and its customers and your role as a Teller with Halifax UK will find you face to face with many customers. Your interviewer is looking to learn how you go about building rapport with both customers and your colleagues in this question. As you answer, be sure to talk both about why you feel that building rapport is important and the ways that you go about building rapport to those that you work with. If possible, make sure to highlight why building strong relationships is important in the banking industry to really sell your interviewer that you have what it takes to be a part of the success at Halifax UK.

"In my mind, building rapport with my colleagues and customers comes down to the basic principle of trust. I build trust with people by doing what I say I'm going to do and delivering results on time. I'm also always considerate to the thoughts of others and work my timeframes around the needs of others, especially when it comes to the customers that I work with. I am confident that my ability to connect with customers in a trusting way will greatly benefit the business here at Halifax UK because customers want a friendly and trusting face handling their personal finances."

If you were on the job here at Halifax UK and a customer came to you with a very odd request that you did not know the answer to or how to solve, how would you handle that situation?

"If I were faced with any question that I didn't know the answer to on the job, I would confidently explain to the customer that I would need to bring in another teammate to help solve the issue and would do so quickly. While I always try to be a subject matter expert on any job that I do, working with external customers can always bring new things. If I could use any resources like a company intranet page or other documentation to help solve the issue myself, I wouldn't hesitate to do that either."

If hired for this role at Halifax UK, you will have the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of customers. Given that variety, the number of unique, and often odd, requests that could come your way are pretty great. Whether a customer is looking to transfer money to another country or some other odd request, your interview is hoping to learn that you are able to think on your feet and not get flustered in any situation you may face on the job. As you answer the question, stay focused on the professional and resourceful approach that you would take with customers when put in this situation and don't hesitate to talk about any similar experiences you've handled in the past on the job.

"First, I would make sure that I fully understood the situation by asking more questions of the customer and would do so in a very polite and professional manner. To ensure that the customer knows a plan moving forward, I would then explain my next course of action. If it was an issue that I had to approach my manager about, I would do so immediately and I would show the customer where they could wait in the lobby. If I would be consulting any documentation or other resources, I would do the same with the customer to not have a holdup in the lobby. Then, I would work diligently to find an answer and make sure the customer was handled in a respectful and efficient manner."

How would you respond to a customer complaint?

"A customer called me very frustrated about an issue with their bank account. I listened and told them I would be happy to help. I asked more questions to understand the problem and then suggested once I had a better idea of what might solve it. The customer was very relieved and grateful that I took the time to listen and make sense of the issue. I plan to provide consistent customer service in the same way when I work for Halifax UK."

The interviewer would like to be assured that you can professionally handle customer complaints. Give an example of a time you helped resolve a customer's issue.

"Each customer complaint is unique; however, I have been trained to handle them all with the same method. Listen, be empathetic, and use phrases such as 'If I understand your concern...' and repeat their words back to them. This method has always worked for me."

How would you rate your comfort level receiving money and counting back many to our customers here at Halifax UK?

"Because of my cashier experience in the retail industry, I would say I'm very comfortable in handling and counting large sums of cash very accurately. I was responsible for transactions made via cash, check and credit card and at the end of every shift, I had to reconcile my till. I'm happy to say that I never had an issue with a till that was off at the end of a shift or a customer that complained about change that I had given them. This was all due to the extra time that I took to ensure accuracy in every transaction."

As a Teller with Halifax UK, you will be responsible for the receipt of cash and distribution of cash to customers that come into the lobby and drive-thru of the branch location you would be working at. Your interviewer will be looking to hear about any direct experience that you have in handling money during your career. As you talk about any experience that you do have, be sure to make it clear that you take pride in the accuracy of your work and that you show honesty and integrity that all you do in working with sums of cash.

"While I don't have direct work experience as a Cashier or Teller handling cash, I would still say that I'm confident in my abilities to handle that aspect of the job here at Halifax UK. As you can see from my resume, my experience in finance has had me balancing accounting ledgers and those duties required a strict attention to detail and a high level of integrity in the work that I performed. I think this experience would help me transition very nicely to this role."

Have you ever operated a currency counting machine or a coin counter?

"While I don't have direct experience working with currency counting technology, I feel very comfortable in my ability to learn how the machines here at Halifax UK operate. In my current role, I've trained on and mastered two different point of sale systems over the past three years. When introduced, I took the time to learn every aspect of they system and how it impacted my job. Through the training processes, I was attentive and hands on to make sure I could hit the ground running on the sales floor. Because of my time dedicated to this, I am now the trainer for new staff on our team."

To help save time and ensure accuracy, Halifax UK has invested in cash counting technology to help automate cash counting processes within its branches. As a Teller with Halifax UK, a part of your job will be operating and troubleshooting these machines on a daily basis. Your interviewer will likely be able to simply answer this question themselves by simply looking at your resume. What they are really looking to hear is that you have some tech savviness in working with simple machines in any of your work experience. If you do have direct experience with currency counting machines, that is great! If not, there is no need to worry as long as you can talk about your ability to learn and thrive with different technologies and give examples of times where you've had to do just that.

"Other than cashing in change in my own bank's lobby, I don't have direct experience. But, I do consider myself to have a very high technical acuity when it comes to machinery and technology. If offered a Teller position here at Halifax UK, one of my first priorities would be to become an expert on all systems that I would be required to work on. In my last role, I had to do just this with the phone and computer systems that were specific to my role and I did this with ease."

Tell me about a time when you demonstrated you were trustworthy.

"In my last role, I was responsible for reconciling the banking at the end of the day. Last month, there was an overage, and I demonstrated my true character by reporting this to the management. Together, we partnered to research where this happened and collaborated to coach the team member who caused the error. We adjusted the accounts accordingly."

To show Halifax UK that you are reliable share an example from your work experience that is relevant to the position.

"Every successful day in the banking industry is an opportunity to show that I am trustworthy. In my five years within banking, I have never been involved in a discrepancy."

Talk about a time where you felt overwhelmed by your job duties. What did you do to stay organized and on track with everything happening?

"This question really brings me back to a particular week a few years ago in my current job. It was late fall as the holiday shopping season was ramping up and our store was very short staffed due to a maternity leave and two employees leaving on short notice. While we were short staffed in the store, it took a full team effort to ensure that customer questions were being answered, shelves were stocked and registers weren't getting backed up. To stay organized, the small team we had on staff worked off of a checklist each day to ensure we weren't missing anything important. Constant communication and flexibility was key for our success as we continually helped each other out on important things throughout the day. For me personally at the end of each day, I took a lot of satisfaction in knowing that I kept my head focused and did a great job."

At some point during your career up to this point, you've faced a time where you felt completely overwhelmed while on the job. As you answer this question, try to paint a clear picture for your interviewer that explains all of the contributing factors to you being overwhelmed. Then, proceed to focus most of your answer on talking about the skills and resources you utilized to keep you on track and focused during this difficult time. In the end, your interviewer is ideally looking to hear that you can stay organized and on track no matter how busy things get if you're hired to join the team at Halifax UK.

"Over the past four years, my current department has cut staff by almost 50% while the overall amount of work has remained steady. This has led to my total duties doubling over the course of four years. While this has been very overwhelming for, and even detrimental to others that I work with, my ability to handle the stress has been very important. The best thing that I do is set time aside at the end of each day to recap what I've done and make a plan for what to handle the next day. Some of my colleagues can't believe that I set aside 30 minutes to plan, but I know that making a plan actually saves me considerable time in the long run and makes me more productive. As well, on days where I do feel very overwhelmed, it is important to take some personal time during a break to step away and get some fresh air. A quick 10 minute walk outside really helps refresh me for another half day of work."

Tell me about your experience in the banking industry.

"When I worked as a bank teller, I learned how to deal with difficult customers and handle a variety of transactions, from ordering foreign money for travel to removing overdraft fees and educating customers on our products. I used my careful attention to detail to keep my drawer balanced and manage my daily tasks without error."

Share details of your banking experience to show Halifax UK you have what it takes to be successful in the field!

"I have 12 years of experience in the banking industry, first as an administrative assistant, then a bank teller, and now; a financial advisor. I have learned a great deal along the way and look forward to putting my experience to work for Halifax UK."

At Halifax UK, we are building a very team based culture. If hired for this position, what would you be able to contribute to this team based culture?

"If hired for this role, I understand that I'd be working among a great team of Tellers, Loan Officers, Analysts and Advisers and I really love this aspect of the role here at Halifax UK. In my current role, I work closely with our administrative and sales staff to help ensure smooth operations on a daily basis. I rely on my ability be upfront in speaking with everyone that I work with, no matter what role they play with the organization. I have no worries in walking into the office of our CFO to talk on a regular basis and wouldn't hesitate to do so if needed for this role."

As Halifax UK continually builds a team based atmosphere within their branches, they want to ensure that new employees that are brought aboard are true team players that will thrive in their culture. As you answer this question, be sure to stress to your interviewer that you are a team player by talking about your experiences in working as part of a team. Talk in detail about what roles you are comfortable in assuming in a team atmosphere and then discuss your own personality traits that make you a great team player. If possible, try to stress the importance of and your ability to communicate effectively to your interviewer.

"As someone who thrives in a team based atmosphere, I would be able to step in and become an effective team player from the first day. I have taken the lead on many project teams during my career and love the responsibility of taking charge on these teams. As well, I can also take directions from others on my team when needed. I have a communication style that is very confident, friendly and professional no matter who I work with. During my career, I've been complimented for my openness to feedback from others and my willingness to help other members of my team when needed."

As a Personal Banker with Halifax UK, why is providing tailored customer service important? How would you make this a priority if hired for this role?

"As in my current industry, I understand that your customers here at Halifax UK all have their own unique financial situation and needs in how I would work with them. Because of that, I have to work with each person on their own individual terms rather than taking the same canned approach with every customer I would work with. To help provide the most tailored customer service possible, I would take the time needed to get to know my customers and their needs and then work with them moving forward in their goals. As personal finance can often be frustrating, I would take my time to listen and understand my customer's frustrations as well to show that I truly care in helping them create a solid plan moving forward."

In the banking industry, customers all have very unique financial situations and personality types so a very customized approach is required to make each customer feel valued. In this role as a Personal Banker, your customers will expect that you tailor your approach to meet their needs. As you answer this question, be sure to talk about the ways that you get to know your customers to best work with them. On top of that, explain the importance of taking an empathetic approach with your customers and talk about why an empathetic approach is important when working with a customer on their financial needs.

"A tailored approach in customer is really easy when you listen, listen and then listen some more. By reflectively listening to my customers, I'm able to get to know them quickly by name, learn a bit about them personally and learn their financial goals for the near and long term moving forward. With that information, I can them formulate the best customized plan for them and that is very important for them to know that my approach was created with their needs at the forefront. With that in mind, the customer then has a much better chance of becoming a life-long customer at Halifax UK."

Our auditing process here at Halifax UK is very detailed. Can you walk me through your typical audit workflow in your current role?

"To aid in auditing processes, I created a very detailed audit planning document that my department has been using for the past four years and it has had a dramatic impact on our audit results. The planning document provides a step by step approach to outlining our objectives, clearly outlining documentation needed in identifying the stakeholders and setting a plan for meetings to take place. In this role with Halifax UK, I would look to use a similar approach. With the plan in place, I work side by side with the stakeholders in explaining the audit and what is needed from each person. I do communicate in many methods, including email, phone and in-person meetings when possible. My goal is ensuring that each individual understands the process and the end goal as clearly as they can."

For this question, your interviewer will be looking to gain insight into a couple different areas that you would bring to their team. First, they'll be looking to see that you have a firm grasp of what a solid auditing process looks like. Next, they'll be looking to see that you have the ability to communicate in a manner that is effective with the people that you'll be working closely with. Last, they'll be looking to hear that you have the critical thinking skills that are necessary to succeed in an auditing role in the financial field. As you answer this question, try to check off all three boxes for your interviewer.

"As a firm believer in a solid auditing software package, I currently utilize Onspring in my current role and couldn't be happier with its performance. This program details our ability to gather all financial documents in one central repository, walk through the steps necessary and planned for in our auditing process schedule necessary meetings, coordinate notes from my audit team and process final reports. If hired for this position at Halifax UK, do you have a software package that I would be working off of?"

How do you stay organized?

"I prioritize my workload against deadlines to stay organized, always putting the needs of customers first."

Staying organized is essential to make sure that you are thorough and pay attention to details, to keep customers happy. It is also necessary for accomplishing your daily tasks behind the scenes. Share a few tools that have helped you stay on-task and on-time.

"I work closely with my peers to share responsibilities and ensure key tasks are delegated out, should there be an important deadline to consider."

Halifax UK Interview Questions

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1. Tell me about your cash handling experience.
2. A key task in this role with Halifax UK is assessing an organization's weighted average cost of capital. Are you familiar with WACC calculations and when have you used them in the past if you are?
3. To get a sense of how you will handle internal auditing processes here at Halifax UK, what do you feel are important tasks to do once an audit is finished?
4. Talk about a time you had to handle failure at any point in your career. How did you handle that situation and move forward with confidence?
5. Talk about a time you had to communicate with a colleague or customer that was unhappy. What were the keys to making the situation better for all involved?
6. What do you want to accomplish at Halifax UK?
7. Here at Halifax UK, part of your job will entail talking to our customers about sensitive and confidential information. How will you handle these situations if offered this position?
8. If a customer at Halifax UK had increased savings as their main personal financial goal, what steps would you take with them to get them started down the right path?
9. The clients of a financial firm like Halifax UK can display an arrange of emotions when they work with our Client Services team. How would you handle a situation where a client was very angry?
10. What do you feel is one unique skill or trait that you could bring to the auditing team here at Halifax UK?
11. Why do you want to pursue a career in the banking industry?
12. Give me an example of how you keep track of details while engaging in conversation.
13. What experience do you have working on an advanced phone system and what skills do you have that you feel would be essential to work with our clients over the phone?
14. As a Personal Banker at Halifax UK, how would you select products to suggest to our customers?
15. In this role as a Risk Analyst with Halifax UK, you will be expected to be the expert on changes in financial regulations that impact our business. How do you keep yourself up to speed on these changes currently?
16. How do you build rapport with those that you work closely with?
17. If you were on the job here at Halifax UK and a customer came to you with a very odd request that you did not know the answer to or how to solve, how would you handle that situation?
18. How would you respond to a customer complaint?
19. How would you rate your comfort level receiving money and counting back many to our customers here at Halifax UK?
20. Have you ever operated a currency counting machine or a coin counter?
21. Tell me about a time when you demonstrated you were trustworthy.
22. Talk about a time where you felt overwhelmed by your job duties. What did you do to stay organized and on track with everything happening?
23. Tell me about your experience in the banking industry.
24. At Halifax UK, we are building a very team based culture. If hired for this position, what would you be able to contribute to this team based culture?
25. As a Personal Banker with Halifax UK, why is providing tailored customer service important? How would you make this a priority if hired for this role?
26. Our auditing process here at Halifax UK is very detailed. Can you walk me through your typical audit workflow in your current role?
27. How do you stay organized?

Halifax UK Interview Questions

1. Tell me about your cash handling experience.

2. A key task in this role with Halifax UK is assessing an organization's weighted average cost of capital. Are you familiar with WACC calculations and when have you used them in the past if you are?

3. To get a sense of how you will handle internal auditing processes here at Halifax UK, what do you feel are important tasks to do once an audit is finished?

4. Talk about a time you had to handle failure at any point in your career. How did you handle that situation and move forward with confidence?

5. Talk about a time you had to communicate with a colleague or customer that was unhappy. What were the keys to making the situation better for all involved?

6. What do you want to accomplish at Halifax UK?

7. Here at Halifax UK, part of your job will entail talking to our customers about sensitive and confidential information. How will you handle these situations if offered this position?

8. If a customer at Halifax UK had increased savings as their main personal financial goal, what steps would you take with them to get them started down the right path?

9. The clients of a financial firm like Halifax UK can display an arrange of emotions when they work with our Client Services team. How would you handle a situation where a client was very angry?

10. What do you feel is one unique skill or trait that you could bring to the auditing team here at Halifax UK?

11. Why do you want to pursue a career in the banking industry?

12. Give me an example of how you keep track of details while engaging in conversation.

13. What experience do you have working on an advanced phone system and what skills do you have that you feel would be essential to work with our clients over the phone?

14. As a Personal Banker at Halifax UK, how would you select products to suggest to our customers?

15. In this role as a Risk Analyst with Halifax UK, you will be expected to be the expert on changes in financial regulations that impact our business. How do you keep yourself up to speed on these changes currently?

16. How do you build rapport with those that you work closely with?

17. If you were on the job here at Halifax UK and a customer came to you with a very odd request that you did not know the answer to or how to solve, how would you handle that situation?

18. How would you respond to a customer complaint?

19. How would you rate your comfort level receiving money and counting back many to our customers here at Halifax UK?

20. Have you ever operated a currency counting machine or a coin counter?

21. Tell me about a time when you demonstrated you were trustworthy.

22. Talk about a time where you felt overwhelmed by your job duties. What did you do to stay organized and on track with everything happening?

23. Tell me about your experience in the banking industry.

24. At Halifax UK, we are building a very team based culture. If hired for this position, what would you be able to contribute to this team based culture?

25. As a Personal Banker with Halifax UK, why is providing tailored customer service important? How would you make this a priority if hired for this role?

26. Our auditing process here at Halifax UK is very detailed. Can you walk me through your typical audit workflow in your current role?

27. How do you stay organized?